Above / For more than 60 years, Kiwanis Club of Naperville has hosted its “all-you-can-eat” Annual Pancake Festival Fundraiser in support of service to many local causes. Volunteers from high school Key Clubs at Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley served stacks and stacks of pancakes with sausages during this year’s event on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2018, at Naperville Central High School. Many attendees were thinking green among the blue Kiwanis!
PHOTO GALLERY / March 17, 2018 / Dozens of volunteers from high school Key Clubs, Loaves & Fishes Community Services and the Naperville City Council joined the Kiwanis to serve up more than a thousand stacks of pancakes with sausages while junior high school bands performed live music in the Naperville Central High School Cafeteria.
Mayor Steve Chirico, Mayor Emeritus George Pradel and City Council members donned Kiwanis aprons, looking official as they meandered through the crowded tables to serve “seconds” to folks upon request.
Emcee Steve Hyett, who has kept the entertainment moving right along for a decade, was surprised with recognition by the appreciative Kiwanis on his 10th anniversary with a big cookie in a special box, appropriately called the “Golden Pancake Award.”
The hallway leading to the cafeteria was organized with raffles and a silent auction of baskets, each filled with gift items donated generously by local businesses. Collection bins for nonperishable items for Loaves & Fishes also were available.
Mary Abe who attended with her daughter, Jane, likely has attended Kiwanis Club pancake breakfasts in Naperville longer than anyone else in attendance at this year’s fundraiser. Back in the 1950s, her late husband, Bill Abe, was a charter member of the Kiwanis Club of Naperville. He always helped with the event, she said.
The commemorative placemat featured dozens of local businesses that lent their support to the fundraising event, too.
Watch for opportunities to support the 64th Annual Kiwanis Pancake Festival at the same time next year.
For more information, visit naperville-evening.kiwanisone.org.
Original Post, Feb. 5, 2018 / The Kiwanis Club of Naperville, in partnership with Loaves & Fishes Community Services, presents the 63rd Pancake Festival fundraiser and food drive from 7AM – noon, Sat., March 17, 2018, in the Naperville Central High School cafeteria.
Parking is free in the school lots with entrance to the festival from the Hillside Road side of the building. All proceeds benefit 25-plus local charities and Loaves & Fishes.
The event features an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage meal, live music from five junior high school bands, cash and prize raffles, local celebrities such as Mayor Chirico and Council Members, an online auction of unique experiences and a children’s area with activities and face painting.
DuPage Children’s Museum will provide an interactive activity.
Pre-event tickets are $8 (preschool children are free) at http://bit.ly/kiwanispancake and Anderson’s Bookshop in downtown Naperville as well as at Casey’s Foods and Oswald’s Pharmacy in Naperville Plaza. Tickets at the door are $10.
The Kiwanis Club thanks our sponsors: Edward-Elmhurst Health, Allstate-Nik Champion, Dog Patch Pet & Feed, Naperville Park District, Becker Service Center, Hidden Key Escapes, Rev3, Woodlake Dental, Kevin Coyne and Diamond Residential Mortgage.
“Our Club is very grateful for the support of our partner, Loaves & Fishes,” noted Diane Ernst in the press release.
“We are very appreciative that Kiwanis Club has included Loaves & Fishes as a partner in this wonderful event,” said Mike Havala, Loaves & Fishes President & CEO. “Kiwanis has provided such generous support to so many organizations and individuals through their valuable service and donations.”
Naperville Kiwanis Club
Kiwanis Club members donate more than 10,000 volunteer hours and $60,000 annually to more than 25 nonprofit community organizations. The group also supports affiliated school groups including a middle school Builders Club and two high school Key Clubs, and a Circle K International club at North Central College.
For more, visit naperville-evening.kiwanisone.org
Story submitted by Diane Ernst, publicist for Naperville Kiwanis Club. (PN File Photos)
Editor’s Note / In response to queries about the West Suburban Irish St. Patrick’s Parade, Naperville’s annual tribute to faithful fun and frolic when everybody can be Irish is slated for 10AM Sat., March 10, following the Rotary Sunrise St. Paddy’s Day 5K that begins first at 8AM in downtown Naperville. All three events will be raising funds for good causes in the community. Thanks to all for supporting local fundraising events whenever possible.
